Four GOP Senators Resist IRA Tax-Credit Repeal
Four Republican U.S. Senators have added their names with 21 Republican congressional representatives in support of retaining the renewable energy benefits outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act or the IRA.
The latest letter from Senators Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Thom Tillis from North Carolina, John Curtis from Utah and Jerry Moran from Kansas expressed their support for continuing the renewable energy policy set forth in the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA.
Senators Murkowski, Tillis and Moran voted Nay for the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Curtis is a freshman senator from Utah elected in 2024.
There was no mention that President Trumps’ executive orders repealed the existing renewable energy agreements.
The republican senators carefully ask for “a targeted, pragmatic approach”.
House committees will soon begin the process of budget reconciliation in conjunction with Senate panels.
Why Opposition to Repeal IRA Tax Credits?
Of the total investment made under the IRA, at least 57 percent went to districts currently represented by Republican House members or about $171 billion is funded.
Republican districts also received nearly three quarters of private investment underwritten by the IRA.
By region, over 209,000 jobs were created at private energy projects subsidized and covered by about $163 billion of IRA funding. At least two-thirds of the announced jobs were for projects in politically republican districts.
Interconnectivity Conglomerate teams with Google
PJM Interconnection will work with Google to use artificial intelligence to potentially revamp and speed up the grid interconnection process.
PJM Interconnection LLC (PJM) is a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States. It is part of the Eastern Interconnection grid operating an electric transmission system serving all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
This was announced by the grid operator last Thursday. Tapestry, a part of Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google, will work with PJM in a multi-year effort to integrate dozens of databases and tools the grid operator currently uses for interconnection requests into a unified model for the PJM network. The unified model will allow developers and grid planners and operators to make interconnection decisions very quickly.
Google pointed out that it took two years for MISO, the Mid-continental Independent Systems Operator, to conduct a manual study for a large project requesting interconnection.
This study follows a structured process, including feasibility and system impact analyses, and culminates in an interconnection agreement. The time it takes to interconnect a project to the grid can vary significantly, but generally it takes between four to five years.
Red and Blue Trending Green
Based on the percentage of electricity on the grid that comes from renewable energy, seven of the top states are politically Republican controlled, according to a new study by the US Energy Information Administration or EIA.
In 2023, solar and wind met 22 percent of blue states' demand for electricity and about 17 percent in red states. However, the rapid adoption of renewable energy in traditionally red states such as Texas and Ohio are rapidly closing this gap.
Renewable Energy Rapidly Growing
Cleaned energy passed a major milestone last year.
For the first time, wind and solar produced more electricity than coal in the US. Recent analysis shows that in 2024, wind and solar met 17 percent of total US demand, while coal supplied only about 15 percent.
Overall, US renewable power has risen sharply since 2000, propelled by a mix of falling costs and supported public policies. Federal incentives have ebbed and flowed over that period but state level investment has been much steadier. Market trends have accelerated that shift.
Over the past decade, the cost of deploying wind and solar have fallen by 70 percent to 90 percent. Wind and solar now are significantly less expensive to deploy than coal, gas or oil.
A 2023 study by Duke Energy found that it spends twice as much powering an existing coal power plant as compared to the cost of building a brand new solar array.
Cattle Voltaics
As solar expands across agricultural land, dual use is emerging as a practiced optimized land use.
A dual use solar approach known as cattle voltaics integrates cattle grazing with solar panels that provide benefits to farmers as well as to energy developers. A fact sheet recently released by the Center for Rural Affairs explores the economic and environmental benefits of using cattle voltaics.
It provides insights into the best practices for implementation. Shade provided by solar panels is one advantage in cattle voltaics. Reducing heat stress in cattle leads to improved efficiency such as increased weight gain in beef cattle and increased milk production in dairy cows, according to the Center.
Beyond the direct benefits to the cattle, the fact sheet contends that grazing under solar panels actually enhances the soil health. It improves soil stability and it provides better economic returns than grasses that are grown out in direct sunlight
